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1 This article was downloaded by: [Boston University], [Laurence Delina] On: 19 August 2015, At: 06:55 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG Carbon Management Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Strengthening the climate action movement: strategies from histories Laurence L Delina a, Mark Diesendorf & John Merson a Institute of Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Published online: 13 Feb Click for updates To cite this article: Laurence L Delina, Mark Diesendorf & John Merson (2014) Strengthening the climate action movement: strategies from histories, Carbon Management, 5:4, , DOI: / To link to this article: PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content ) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

2 PERSPECTIVE Strengthening the climate action movement: strategies from histories Carbon Management (2014) 5(4), Laurence L Delina*, Mark Diesendorf & John Merson Background: Since many governments lack the motivation to lead deep emission reduction initiatives, the climate action movement must strengthen its campaigns. Method and results: This paper offers strategies for the movement derived from historical analysis of mechanisms that achieved effective social change in the past. Common elements of climate action with past social change movements, together with some differences, are identified. Conclusion: Although technologies, strategies and tactics vary, climate action groups can agree to support a shared common goal: effective climate mitigation, that can be accomplished not only through outward-oriented tactics, but also by forms of climate activism that are prefigurative that is, based on action within local communities. Furthermore, the diverse campaigns that take place on a variety of scales and spaces, conducted by heterogeneous groups, should be integrated by establishing national and international hubs to facilitate coordination and communication. Introduction With few exceptions, governments at the national level remain myopic and ineffective in responding to the climate challenge [1,2]. Given how high the stakes are with inaction and slow response of power-holders [3 7], it is now vital to strengthen the grassroots dimension of climate action. The climate action movement comprising many individuals, climate action groups, networks, alliances and coalitions [8] seems to be the only hope for exerting sufficient pressure to achieve needed change. Strong support from a wide and diverse membership base is needed to make calls for effective action commensurate with the requirements of climate science. For the existing climate action movement to grow into such a powerful, large-scale movement, there is a need for well thought-out mobilization and organization strategies. This paper uses historical analysis, framing it under social movement theory, to identify the strategies the climate action movement can learn from large-scale historical popular social change movements. For many countries, power structures at the national level are in a state of political gridlock on climate change response, resulting in ineffective policymaking and action [1,2,9]. In a democracy, people must understand that these power structures are dependent upon their consent and therefore can be revoked at any time. Exerting pressure on power-holders to resolve issues of important public interest has been historically proven to achieve large-scale social changes by toppling some existing power-holders, moving other power-holders into action and creating new cultural norms. To achieve this, public pressure must be appropriately motivated, mobilized and organized [10 12]. There is reason for optimism about activating people power to the role of climate activism. Despite the issue's low influence in policymaking and media reporting, especially in high-carbon states, the majority of people in these countries recognize and support effective climate action, especially in the context of transitioning the sector that is responsible for most emissions, energy. For instance, a longitudinal study from Stanford finds that the majority of Americans support many climate-friendly energy policies, including Institute of Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia *Author for correspondence: Tel.: ; Taylor & Francis 397

3 Perspective Delina, Diesendorf & Merson Key terms renewable energy targets, limitations on emissions by utilities and Climate action movement: A social change movement comprising energy efficiency standards, and are heterogeneous actors, groups and even willing to pay some amount networks, which, although having to have them enacted [13]. Even in different strategies and tactics, converge the Republican state of Texas, 79% on the broad goal of transitioning society towards a low-carbon future. of survey respondents agree that Rapid climate mitigation: Addressing emissions should be reduced from the climate change challenge by power plants, while 76% agree that focusing on transition from greenhouseintensive industries to ecologically governments should limit emissions from businesses [14]. A similar proportion of the Australian popula- sustainable ones at a rate that is consistent with the science of climate change. tion agrees that climate action is Historical analysis: A method in social necessary: The Commonwealth science research that assesses reserves Scientific and Industrial Research of ideas provided by historical episodes to explain and guide current processes. Organisation (CSIRO) finds that Public engagement: Active four in five Australians (81%) think participation of individuals, groups and climate change is happening and communities in collective social action increased investment in renewable energy and public transport that goes well beyond lobbying power-holders and voting in elections, to include mass rallies, teach-ins, media should be made [15]. These numbers campaigns, strikes and boycotts, reveal the silent and sympathetic divestment, community demonstration yet dispersed and underutilised of alternatives and refusal to cooperate majority who potentially can be with governments. mobilized into the climate action Outward-oriented climate activism: A climate action approach that focuses on movement. large-scale confrontational protests, Using the lenses from social demonstrations, marches and lobbying movement theory and the historical to put pressure to governments, vested analysis method, this paper distils a interests and their supporters. Prefigurative climate activism: A number of strategies from four cases climate action approach that focuses on of historical large-scale activism. It the individual and community levels to examines the points of similarities develop community-based climate that can be extracted and used for solutions. designing strategies for strengthening the climate action movement. It also examines the points of divergence that can be identified. Comparisons between the climate action movement and past large-scale mobilizations have been a staple in many popular public presentations, articles and blogs, e.g. [16,17]. While these discussions are mostly focused on extracting parallel strategies that climate groups can use, there has been no attempt in the academic literature to interrogate this comparison in depth. Based on historical analysis, this paper proposes strategies to strengthen the movement in the discussion section, which also acknowledges the limitations of the historical method. Concepts and methods The political power of social movements Recognizing the importance of activism in affecting large-scale social changes, the paper uses social movement theory as a framework to investigate the strategies for effective climate action campaigns [10,11,18,19]. Building on insights from this theory, the paper designs strategies that draw upon the mechanisms that made historical large-scale popular movements effective in their campaigns. These strategies are then applied to social movements of diverse individuals and groups whose perspectives are broadly aligned on the nature of the climate challenge, yet have varying emphases on how to act on it. Social mobilization is primarily about organizing numbers in order to wield political power. Gene Sharp, who has studied many nonviolent social movements, acknowledges the necessity to wield power in order to control the power of threatening political groups or regimes [10, p. 7]. Saul Alinsky, considered by some to be the father of modern community organizing, writes: Change comes from power, and power comes from organization. In order to act, people must get together [20, p. 113]. The history of social movements, indeed, suggests that effecting change is only possible if citizens organize their numbers and become a strong political power [10,11,18,19]. In engaging with social movement theory, the paper fills a gap in the academic analysis of the varying political activities that the climate action movement adopts. Generally, the movement is focused on toppling a regime that supports industrial emissions to give way to a transition toward more sustainable systems [8,21]. In terms of engagement and focus on communicating climate solutions, however, activists can be described as having two broad approaches [22]. According to North, the first group engages in outward-focused activism [22] through confrontational protests, demonstrations and lobbying marches to put pressure on political elites to act. Recent examples are the People's Climate March; the rallies during the Copenhagen COP15; Keystone pipeline protests; calls for divestment in many colleges and universities; direct actions against coal-fired power plants and fossil gas extraction; and lobbying for a legislated carbon price, energy efficiency regulations and incentives for renewable energy. By constructing citizen climate action in a similar way to peace, civil rights and other mobilization types, this group challenges unsustainable practices and pressures governments to support large-scale technology demonstrations. Many of these activists aim to replace fossil fuel-based systems with sustainable energy technologies to mitigate climate change [23 25], especially in the electricity sector, based on the technical plausibility provided by scenario studies and simulation modelling [26 28]. Some activists of this form further argue that examples of wartime mobilization can be used as policy blueprint for such large-scale deployments [23,29], an assumption earlier examined by two of this paper's authors [see 30]. 398 Carbon Management (2014) 5(4)

4 Strengthening the climate action movement Perspective The second group, meanwhile, focuses on what North calls prefigurative activism at the individual and community levels to develop community-based climate solutions, opting for smaller scale, grassroots-oriented technologies [22]. In this approach, activists direct their policy reform practices toward community-level transitions and practices, e.g. Transition Town initiatives [31]; community energy co-operatives [32 34]. Their approach resonates with the concept of developing new technologies at niches often found in local communities through the provision of spaces for innovation in developing low-carbon lifestyles that might later diffuse to the mainstream [31,33,35]. Past social action mobilizations as reserves of ideas This paper adopts a social science research method called historical analysis, where past social action movements are examined and assessed to harvest both convergent and divergent mechanisms that led to their effective campaigns. In this approach, history functions as a reserve of ideas and alternatives and is used as focal resource material. The paper summons historical episodes of widely known events, uses them as case studies and invokes them as part of narratives to justify and explain policy and strategies for climate action. Scholars have been employing this particular structured approach to knowledge production in a variety of areas, e.g. [36 39]. These methods have been employed in several disciplines, including development economics [e.g., 40,41] and history [42]. Some readers may be tempted to dismiss the findings of a historical assessment as results of selection effects, arguing that the selected case studies can be biased toward successes, since the episodes considered are the most commonly reported and analyzed in the literature, and that there are other case studies that are also effective yet were not included in the analysis. To reduce potential bias arising from these complications, critical observations were made in this paper across spatial and temporal scales to provide generalizable contrasts between what constitutes effective and ineffective campaigns. Another criticism of this method may arise pertaining to the impossibility of observing actual fields in action. Although observing historical fields as they occur is impossible for obvious reasons, it is still possible to observe, analyze, compare and infer histories to realize the purposes of this study. In both historical cases and the contemporary climate action movement, our interests similarly lie in how actors were responding to new problems of their respective times, how multiple lines of actions were untangled, how conflicts rose and were addressed, and how the consequences of various decisions were empirically understood. Research from other disciplines suggests that this kind of observation, analysis and comparison can indeed be accomplished and thus produce meaningful results [e.g., 40 42]. The case studies This paper seeks to identify some dominant dynamics, patterns, elements, important factors and conditions, or key tensions broadly termed mechanisms that led to effective large-scale social mobilizations. To determine these mechanisms, historical episodes from four social movements are used in this study: the 1930 events in the Indian Freedom Struggle, the bus boycott that catalyzed the modern African-American Civil Rights Movement, the anti-marcos movement culminating in the 1986 Philippine People Power Revolution, and the Burmese Uprising. The Indian Freedom Struggle The paper examines two episodes in India in 1930 that ignited a massive social shake-up and challenged the dominion of the British Empire in the subcontinent. The year 1930 is considered to be the pivot point of what became the last stages of the successful Indian independence campaign. During this year, the movement started to adopt Gandhian nonviolent resistance. The first object of analysis is the Dandi march (March 12 April 5, 1930), when Gandhi led a 390-km march for 24 days to defy the British salt tax laws. The second object of analysis is the Dharasana campaign (May 1930), which ended in violent beatings of peaceful campaigners. These two events eventually attracted international attention, paving the way for the questioning of the British imperial dominance over the region by the international community. Indian independence was finally gained in August The modern African-American Civil Rights Movement The paper analyzes the birth of the modern civil rights movement in the USA, which can be said to have been catalyzed in 1955, 1 year after the US Supreme Court issued a ruling on Brown v. Board of Education that declared the unconstitutionality of state laws establishing separate public schools for white and colored students. The event analyzed is the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, and the following 13-month bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. This event catalyzed and ignited a national struggle for civil rights of the modern era. The wide range of effective nonviolent activities following Parks arrest and the bus boycott finally led to the achievement of a number of civil rights legislations that ended racial segregation and enforced equal voting rights in the USA in

5 Perspective Delina, Diesendorf & Merson The Philippine People Power Revolution The paper examines the mass popular nonviolent uprising to oust the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, which ended a 23-year corrupt regime and ushered in a smooth democratic transition. The analysis is focused on mobilizations that took off with the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino in 1983, his funeralturned-protest and succeeding large-scale campaigns that culminated in the post-elections nonviolent People Power Revolution in The analysis also includes mobilization activities that occurred years before the Aquino assassination, during which the Catholic Church and progressive entities initiated grassroots mobilization activities. The Burmese Uprising The paper analyzes a popular uprising against Burma's military junta that occurred between 1988 and After a soldier murdered a university student, studentled protests against police violence spontaneously expanded out of Rangoon into a nationwide anti-junta campaign in Despite some gains from the campaign, which included the temporary replacement of military with civilian rule in 1988 and the holding of a multiparty election in 1990 which the opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won the Burmese Uprising was not able to accomplish its intended goal. The choice of these four cases is due to three reasons. First, they all contain variations in terms of campaign outcomes: the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of largescale social action campaigns. In this context, effectiveness is measured in terms of an observable effect on the outcome such that the outcome could be plausibly interpreted as a direct result of the movement's campaigns, and the movement's stated goals were fully achieved. Applying these two criteria to the four cases, the cases from India, USA and the Philippines can be said to be effective. (Note that the measure for effective/ ineffective campaigns has to be viewed in the timeframe considered in the case studies.) This variation is important since it allows a comparison of the mechanisms what caused the outcomes. Second, the diversity of both causes and effects strengthens the results of the analysis. The diversity allows the formation of some generalizations that are broader than can be derived from a single case, which is an important response to the arguments regarding selection bias discussed earlier. Third, the cases show asymmetrical conflicts between non-state actors against adversaries who are stronger in resources and military capacity. The cases present interesting illustrations of nonviolent campaigns that emerged out of highly repressive environments. These rationales are important for the general objective of this paper where non-state climate action groups are pitted against resource-superior opponents in the fossil fuel complex and some very large electricity utilities. Mechanisms for effective campaigns: analogs with the climate action movement Historical analysis and analogies with the climate action movement reveal that the social movements both share similar mechanisms and display divergent mechanisms that made their campaigns either ineffective or effective. Our analysis in the section on convergence suggests that convergent mechanisms can be categorized as building a new collective identity and a unified regime alternative, the moral message and related symbols, and diversity of participants and networking. The section on divergence shows that divergent mechanisms can be found in terms of heterogeneity, scale and scope of response; immediate versus future benefits; and public communication channels. Convergence Building a new collective identity and a unified regime alternative For a social cause to grow beyond local groups and communities, it must be able to propagate itself. The case studies suggest that an effective mechanism to achieve this is to provide people with a new sense of collective identity and ownership by offering a clear and unified regime alternative. In the continuum that describes social movements, the most important phase is when people start to actively and effectively respond to the social issue by involving themselves not only in political actions but also in changing their behavior and mindset [43,44]. Yet it is the most challenging phase, since it entails inculcating a new set of identities and values. Once strategies around this mechanism are designed, people appear to become self-directing, and the chances of having successful campaigns are increased. There are of course numerous and complex reasons why the Montgomery bus boycott, the march to Dandi, the Aquino funeral-turned-demonstration and the protest outside a Rangoon university sparked movements that would eventually expand. But one critical factor, these case studies suggest, is the transformation of citizens from being mere individual participants and followers into members of collectively organized, selfdirecting and highly engaged social change groups. The case studies suggest that greater engagement was secured only after people realised that the movement offers a clear and unified alternative to the status quo, the movement offers a sense of community for its participants and the movement exemplifies a set of moral values or virtues that they want to own for 400 Carbon Management (2014) 5(4)

6 Strengthening the climate action movement Perspective themselves. When protesters were given a new sense of self-identity, campaigns became stronger movements fuelled by people who started acting because they had taken ownership of the larger movement itself. This new identity brings feelings and new experiences of solidarity, harmony and unanimity toward social groups with which one may not be acquainted, but with which one nonetheless can share similar aspirations [18,45]. The four case studies shared and valued at least one important identity: a high degree of nonviolent discipline. This is an important characteristic of the transformative character of the movements examined. In the case of the Philippines, for example, calls for nonviolent discipline by the Catholic Church during the elections campaign of 1986 were instrumental in bringing in more support for the anti-marcos movement [46]. As a result of the images of nonviolence, some disaffected elites quickly switched sides, and many ordinary citizens participated. During the 1986 People Power revolt itself, non-violent discipline became evident as anti- Marcos protesters offered food to the loyalist troops and appealed to their sense of nationalism as encouragement to join the pro-democracy movement [47,48]. The phalanx of government armed forces and tanks eventually retreated without bloodshed, and many in the armed forces started to shift their loyalty away from Marcos. In Montgomery, this transformation toward a new sense of collective identity commenced when the commitment toward the bus boycott begun to wane. During this time, bombs were thrown at many black residences and people began asking whether the boycott was indeed an effective campaign. When a bomb exploded in the yard of Martin Luther King, the pastor immediately delivered a strong message that would define the new identity of the movement from then on. He addressed the crowd: Now let's not become panicky. If you have weapons, take them home; if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them. We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with nonviolence. We must love our white brothers no matter what they do to us [49, pp ]. King's message gave the black communities a new lens that eventually recast and transformed the boycott and the many other campaigns for civil rights into a new and different light. Aside from valuing nonviolence, highlighting a unified alternative that would usher in a new identity is also evident in these three case studies. The Indian independence movement, the civil rights movement and the 1986 Philippine People Power Revolution all clearly worked toward achieving unified alternatives to the regimes that they toppled down. By contrast, the Burmese case was considered a failure because, for one reason, it failed to provide a new sense of identity for the Burmese people and a unified alternative to the ruling military junta [47]. At present, many climate action campaigns have been planned, centered and accomplished around outwardfocused activism. While it is important that the movement strengthens these campaigns and continues to target the worst obstructionist actors for effective climate action, it is a one-sided response. Equally important is for the movement to highlight prefigurative activism where as many people as possible can be engaged to participate in activities that focus on building regime alternatives, such as a rapid sustainable energy transition, in their own communities. The moral message and related symbols The psychology literature points out that people tend to react with passion and determination based on a number of psychological tipping points such as their strong realization that the values they strongly hold are being violated [50,51]. These stimuli appear to have caused large-scale activism to ignite, and were strategically used by social movements as symbols for strengthening their respective struggles, and as mechanisms for mobilizing support. For instance, Rosa Parks arrest became a visual symbol that effectively represented the racial injustices of her time and momentously tipped the balance towards the emergence of a national discourse on civil rights. Parks did conform to the type of a black person who was deserving of a right to a bus seat she herself paid for. Her character was pristine; she was humble and gentle; she was honest, she was clean, she had integrity [52,53]. Her repertoire as a well-mannered person, her serene demeanour, her proper speech, her humble, saintly way, her ascetic lifestyle carried not only the image but also the reality of an African-American deserving of respect and the right to live peacefully in her community [52]. Her arrest was a shock to the community and sent the moral message that propelled the modern movement for civil rights. In the Philippines, the assassination of Aquino, a prominent political opposition leader, provided the necessary tipping point and moral symbol to spark Filipinos to rise to the occasion and protest Marcos corrupt regime. In one event, Aquino said: We cannot fight Marcos with arms, because he has so many. We could not fight him with money, because we do not have any. The only way we can fight him is with morality [54, p. 78]. Since many Filipinos identified Aquino as the moral face of change, his assassination catalyzed large-scale activisms in that country. His funeral was 401

7 Perspective Delina, Diesendorf & Merson attended by more than 2 million people and ignited a series of large-scale protests [47]. The movement to topple Marcos culminated in the 1986 peaceful People Power Revolution. The symbolism brought about by the personalities and moralities of Parks and Aquino, along with the events that highlighted their moral ascendancies, were both harmoniously connected with the aspirations of black Americans and the general Filipino public of their respective times. One of the biggest challenges faced by the climate action movement is about making the sense of doing what is right felt rapidly across all sectors of society. This has become more difficult since evidence from behavioral and brain sciences suggests that the human moral judgment system is poorly equipped to identify future, large-scale, long-term hazards such as climate impacts [51]. The evolutionary history of our species simply impedes our capacity to react today on the future ramifications of our historical and current actions [55]. A tipping point, just like the ones provided by Parks arrest and the Aquino assassination, may be necessary to catapult action, but the movement may not be granted similar pivot events that could highlight the moral basis for effective climate action. The climate action movement has been employing a number of images to stimulate climate engagement. Some groups are using symbols such as images of a polar bear stranded on breaking ice, a submerged coastal city and a graph of fast-rising emissions to attract people's attention and appeal to the moral positions of protecting endangered species and future generations of humans. People's perception of these types of climate symbolism, however, varies. While they can grab some people's attention, the focus on technical language and fear appeals that make use of shocking events can disengage other people [56,57] and could even be perceived as a form of manipulation [43,58]. In many instances, such symbols rarely push people to action [43,58]. By contrast, symbols that offer hope and bear solutions, which are broadly consistent with, yet communicated to, individuals personal aspirations, desired social identity and cultural biases, appeal to most people and, hence, are the best welcomed [56,59]. Parks arrest and the Aquino assassination are good examples of these hope-offering and solution-bearing symbolisms. Diversity of participants and networking Individuals and groups may carry out different forms of social movement activity at different times under different organizations, using different tactics focused on different audiences but to the same ultimate end [47]. The case studies show that the more diverse the participants are in terms of gender, age, religion, ethnicity, ideology, profession and socio-economic status the better the chance of success, since it becomes more difficult for adversaries to isolate them. Diversity of participation also increases the likelihood of tactical diversity, since different groups are familiar with different forms of campaigns and bring their own capacities to their respective movements [60,61]. Diversity among individuals and groups thus becomes a mechanism for increasing the number of pressure points. A social movement, therefore, is best described as a constellation of many heterogeneous actors and groups with differing emphases on the nature of the challenge and unique capacities, but united under one overarching goal. Because of diversity, social movements generally have informal institutional arrangements, an absent hierarchy, and no central authority [18,62]. Instead, they form networks. The Philippine case illustrates how a network approach to mobilization resulted in success. Several progressive and social action groups allied themselves under an umbrella provided by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Nationalist Alliance) in Earlier, the Catholic Church had been organizing its networks of grassroots groups through small, personalized and face-to-face group seminars. As the anti-marcos protests heightened after Aquino's assassination, these networks were activated to conduct large-scale campaigns around the country [47]. The intense networked mass mobilization and nonviolent resistance grew quickly to involve nearly every segment of Philippine society, including moderate reformers, businesspeople, religious leaders and even former regime supporters. This eventually paved the way for greater engagement that became highly visible during the nonviolent 1986 People Power Revolution. Network-based mobilizations also became the defining strategy in the US civil rights movement, especially during its final phase [63]. In the course of civil rights activism, both community leaders and residents moved to organize the mobilization of thousands of their social groups, neighbors, friends, coworkers and families. As a result, the events that shook the US, beginning with Parks arrest in 1965 and followed by the Montgomery bus boycott and later campaigns such as Freedom Summer and the March on Washington, were engaged in by relatively powerless groups [who] depended for success upon activating other groups [64, p. 1]. With a strong, diverse and large network of groups and supporters, civil rights campaigns became self-propelling. The struggle reached the halls of Congress where equal rights legislation was finally secured in In Burma, meanwhile, during the critical month of August 1988, when protests intensified and the junta's legitimacy appeared to be on the verge of collapse, 402 Carbon Management (2014) 5(4)

8 Strengthening the climate action movement Perspective prominent opposition politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi operated mainly on their own [65]. They were also internally divided regarding whether to call for a regime change or support a negotiated transition [65]. Moreover, opposition politicians were reluctant to form alliances with students and other grassroots opposition groups who were the original instigators of the uprising [47]. Recognizing the importance of stronger networks, the students attempted to unite opposition leaders in a single leadership council during the national strike of August 26, 1988, but this failed [65]. Ties between the political elites and grassroots groups, instead of becoming strong and united, were weakened [47,65], resulting in repercussions in the ranks of grassroots campaigners, who became confused, frustrated and fatigued [48,65]. After 2 years, the struggle failed and the nation returned to strong military control in The variety of participation and the networked approach are also embraced in the climate action movement [101]. Diversity occurs across regions, approaches and campaigns. Individual activities may seem tiny, but because of the involvement of many heterogeneous yet similarly oriented groups, they can multiply, achieve economies of scale and thus spread their benefits quickly. Divergence Heterogeneity, scale and scope of response Each of the four case studies started out as a localized campaign and expanded into a movement of national scale. Campaign objectives were realized in terms of either changes in political leadership or an enactment of legislation. Unlike the four case studies, however, the range of spaces and scales at which climate change activists organize is greater. Climate change is not only a local and national issue, but also a global challenge. Divergence is also evident in terms of the scope of campaigns. The civil rights movement, for instance, worked exclusively for the betterment of colored people. The Indian struggle was also devoted to attaining nationhood. The Burmese and Philippine cases worked entirely to topple political dictatorships. Climate change, by contrast, involves not a particular race, gender or region but the whole of humanity, including the unborn, and even non-human species. Its intended results extend far beyond changes in political leadership or legislation. Furthermore, the solutions to anthropogenic climate change can be pursued at different levels, for example within individual industry sectors such as energy, forestry and agriculture, or in a holistic approach to promoting green technologies across the economy, or even going beyond technologies to stop the growth in economic activity and growth in population which are, at one conceptual level, two of the three drivers of environmental destruction [66,67]. The multiplicity of the challenges and solutions means that the climate action movement has to recognize and include varied values, interests, perspectives and capabilities in strategizing for climate action. Responding to this heterogeneity is important since people may join climate activism for a number of reasons. Some join because they see their friends and families in those groups. Others are motivated to participate by altruism, social solidarity, love of nature, concern for future generations and community values, etc. [33,68]. Others are attracted to the movement because of the economic opportunities and jobs that come along with its campaigns [33]. For these many reasons, the climate action movement cannot rely on one particular rationale to attract participation. Nonetheless, it needs to connect climate change to relevant issues that people care about and to provide wide-ranging opportunities for heterogeneous audiences so that everyone can take action. Campaigns have to be structured so that people can put in as many or as few resources as they are able, while still making a meaningful contribution. Immediate versus future benefits Human nature dictates that people mainly respond to immediate and visible burdens and injustices [55], and when their very sense of survival is being threatened [50,51]. Movements built their campaigns on narratives provided by tipping points and events that highlighted societal burdens, and used them to drive people into action [12]. However, as stated earlier, the climate action movement may not be granted similar dramatic triggers that it can use to attract numbers. While a warming planet can have undeniable impacts on human lives [6], extreme events could occur too late or develop too gradually to be used as narratives in driving effective climate action. Burden framing is also of limited value due to psychological repercussions such as denial and/or apathy [69,70], as mentioned earlier in the section on moral messages and related symbols. As human beings, we are also innately impatient, preferring immediate over postponed benefits [71]. Effective climate mitigation, through transforming the global energy system from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and transforming the agriculture and forestry industries, would take at least several decades. Since climate actions today will largely be for the benefit of future generations, it is imperative for the movement to develop strategies that focus other forms of benefits of mitigation into the present. Public communication channels Getting widespread publicity is an important factor for ensuring a successful movement [12], as exemplified 403

9 Perspective Delina, Diesendorf & Merson by media coverage of Gandhi's campaign [72]. Media coverage of the civil rights movement at Selma and Birmingham likewise contributed to the build-up of supporters, including those from outside the southern states [73]. By contrast, the climate action movement has not received similar extensive media coverage and support, especially in Australia and the USA. Often, climate change reporting has been narrowly framed as an impending and emerging environmental problem with serious consequences in the future instead of framing it as an ongoing, present issue. Moreover, positive stories such as those brought about by sustainable energy transitions do not merit as much airtime as stories on violence, wars and political bickering. In cases when climate change is reported, many mainstream media outlets, particularly in the USA and Australia, have shown bias against climate action [74,75]. Others give equal time to non-scientist deniers of climate science, and climate scientists. The fossil fuel regime, which has now extended its reach and influence in mainstream media has, indeed, been impacting the framing of climate science and action, as demonstrated for instance by the powerful Australian coal industry [75]. The absence of media coverage of the climate action movement by mainstream broadcasters was evident during the 2014 People's Climate March where popular US media outlets failed to cover the campaign [102]. To some extent, the non-reporting of what was possibly the largest march in history was reminiscent of media control in Burma in 1988 and at a time when the Philippines was under martial law. Communicating the climate imperative with the hope of mobilizing a movement via traditional media outlets, therefore, may not be a highly effective option for the movement given this current situation. In the absence of support from traditional media organizations, the climate action movement may find inspiration from the Philippine case, where citizen-initiated radio broadcasts helped to publicize and mobilize the 1986 People Power Revolution [76]. Climate action campaigners can use non-traditional means, modes and channels of communication provided by online media and social media to boost audience reach. This is relevant since many popular media establishments are already grappling with lost TV viewership, radio listenership, magazine and newspaper readership, as internet-based news sources started to chart their own virtual territories and to claim audiences previously held by popular media institutions [77,78]. Discussion The scale and scope of the climate challenge, the heterogeneous character of climate activism and media attitude to effective climate action entail the design of diverse but integrated strategies for strengthening the movement. Although groups adopt different approaches and pathways to the transition to a low carbon future, guidance provided by lessons of history, as discussed in the section on divergence, generates new ways of thinking about climate action for both outward-oriented and prefigurative types. Using the results of historical analysis and their analogies to contemporary climate action movement, the following strategies are developed. Focusing the lens of climate activism on a unified alternative While the climate action movement appears to be heterogeneous, it does not mean that the approaches, campaigns, technologies, tools and tactics of climate action groups cannot be shared and gathered around one overarching goal or vision. As the case studies show, effectiveness tends to correlate with campaigns that focus on a unified alternative one that may be broad but that many groups can agree with, at least in principle. Moreover, the case studies also show that this overarching goal has to convey positive rather than threatening solutions to increase the odds of success. Climate action groups, therefore, have to initiate campaigns where people can translate their specific concerns into feasible actions that complement and contribute toward an overarching and unified goal. What is lacking in current climate action campaigns is equal, if not greater, emphasis and effort in highlighting the solutions for deeper emissions reductions. Instead of an overreliance on confrontational politics provided by outward oriented activism, the movement can present time-bound and achievable solutions and visions that climate action groups can, at least in principle, support. The overarching goal of effective climate mitigation can be advanced by campaigns and activities that focus on rapid mitigation via changes in technology together with changes in behaviors, and other tactics such as divestment. Some climate action groups are already emphasizing their focus on alternative solutions [e.g., see 103]. More is needed, however, to broaden these campaigns to highlight positive visions and policies to achieve them, including in sectors other than energy, and preferably at locations where people can directly participate and contribute. Bringing heterogeneous groups to support an overarching goal is essential, as highlighted by the case studies. Facilitating face-to-face meetings Because of unfriendly mainstream media, using social media and delivering presentations, seminars and conversations in homes, schools, businesses, community forums and places of worship are paramount in reaching a broad, popular audience. Similar to neighbor-to-neighbor mobilizations for civil rights, and 404 Carbon Management (2014) 5(4)

10 Strengthening the climate action movement Perspective church-based mobilizations in the Philippines, these face-to-face meetings for climate action should stress the importance of a mobilized citizenry as an active political force for socio-technical change. At the same time, these meetings should focus on educating and training people on climate solutions. These meetings should also empower participants in order to turn talk into action. At the gathering, one or two highly trained volunteer facilitators can guide guests through climate solutions such as sustainable energy and public transport. During the meetings, volunteers could focus their initial talks on climate impacts that are more socially proximate to local communities, suburbs and cities, instead of visualizations from remote arctic regions, peoples and animals. Focus has to deliberately shift toward locally achievable solutions. At the conclusion of the meeting, guests could be invited to sign up to demand rapid mitigation policies from governments, and to host another similar meeting. Using proximate symbols that convey optimistic messages The most engaging images are not those that convey fear, but optimistic icons that provide narratives about effective solutions and make people feel they are able to do something about the issue [58,69,70,79]. Proximity to these symbols of hope and morality, in terms of closeness to people's own values, daily lives and local area, is another lesson that the historical cases have illustrated. Indians found it in Gandhi. People in Montgomery found it in Rosa Parks. Filipinos found it in Benigno Aquino. All of them found it in the value of nonviolence and the clear demonstrations of available and doable regime alternatives. Climate action groups, therefore, should prefer similarly aligned positive representations brought about by local and regional icons that individuals care about and empathize with rather than distant and complex climate icons, imageries and symbols. Energy solutions occurring in communities, towns and cities have already started to provide one kind of such optimistic and proximate symbols for many. The climate action movement should continue using these symbols to highlight and demonstrate the alternatives to the fossil fuel regime. Publicizing these kinds of prefigurative activism using alternative forms of communications provided by online media and social media also needs to be expanded and strengthened for greater public visibility. Demonstrating alternatives to the fossil fuel regime from the ground up Since emissions from fossil-based technologies are one of the principal drivers of climate change, the movement has to focus on promoting new possibilities and alternatives to the regime. It can be done by unleashing and celebrating the resources and skills of ordinary citizens in communities where low-carbon economies can be built from the bottom up through community-owned strategies and approaches [31]. This type of prefigurative activism can be motivated through localized and tailored strategies that respond to the diversity of the many groups that comprise the climate action movement. At the same time, this kind of motivation becomes relevant to many since it responds to what people care about the most. Community energy solutions, for instance, attract local people because they provide immediate benefits such as independence from electric utilities, protection of local environments, new sources of income and increasing social cohesion [33]. With community-based actors experimenting with innovations for transition to low-carbon societies at this level through sustainable energy transition, it is then hoped that large-scale transition can be accomplished virally as thousands of other individuals and groups follow suit [33,35]. This blooming of a thousand flowers [33 p. 977;35 p. 19] has already started to permeate climate solutions in many local and city governments where alternative pathways have been occurring through a number of local energy transitions [80]. For example, many towns and cities have already moved towards 100% renewable energies [see 104], while plans are on the way for others: for example, San Francisco has a 100% renewable energy target by 2020, and the City of Sydney by Climate action groups can focus their campaigns on pushing their local governments and councils to adopt similar transition pathways. Instituting deliberative democracy exercises As the case studies have shown, social movements become more effective when campaigns become selfpropelling. This stage can be reached as people feel ownership of the social action campaign itself. Considering the heterogeneous character of climate activism, deliberative democracy processes offer the climate action movement one option to achieve this level of engagement. Following successes of empirical examples of deliberative democracy exercises in other social change domains [81 84], deliberative democracy exercises for climate action would involve a series of professionally facilitated meetings where randomly selected citizens deliberate the issue to find a variety of possible climate solutions and approaches [85]. Deliberative exercises are processes of iterative knowing, probing and solving that consider the variety of opinions and suggestions from a heterogeneous mix of participants. Deliberations, not debates, characterize these exercises. The final output is not necessarily a consensus but generally a diversified set of recommendations that show plurality and respect 405

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